College Sports

Mountain West still tackling reality of conference realignment

Sporting some new duds and showing a happy face, the Mountain West is grooming itself in hopes of still being considered an elite conference.

Though the Mountain West has taken major membership hits amid the chaotic changes in conference affiliation the past few years, commissioner Craig Thompson likes to talk of a time when his league and the Pac-12 will be the two major conferences in the western half of the United States.

With football being the focal point, it's hard to ignore the Mountain West's recent losses of Utah, TCU and BYU, and the projected loss of Boise State and San Diego State starting in 2013. But Thompson points out that 26 schools have changed conference affiliation since 2010, so it's not just the MW whose life has been tossed upside down. While the conference has lost big-name football schools, it will add Hawaii (football only), Fresno State and Nevada on July 1 and recently announced that Utah State and San Jose State would be joining the league, after exiting from the WAC, for the 2013-14 school year.

"I'm excited about 2012," Thompson said of a year that could see a brief armistice in conference realignments. "But 2013 is a work in progress. Grab on and hold on tight. It's not over yet."

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There has been talk that Boise State and San Diego State are having second thoughts about joining the Big East Conference. Thompson has said he has had in-depth discussions with Boise State, but it ultimately decided to stick with its plan to go to the Big East in football. Thompson said Boise State has not yet submitted a letter of withdrawal to the Mountain West and that San Diego State withdrew in football only.

Constant change seems to be the norm in collegiate athletics today.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we see some movement in conference affiliation almost every year from here on," Air Force football coach Troy Calhoun said. "It's something we'll have to live with."

While Thompson and the MW aren't facing immediate deadline issues, the dealings with Conference USA about merging the conferences remains a touchy subject within the league. The MW and Conference USA have tried for months to create some sort of a partnership, but remain far apart.

"We're still talking, but right now we're both focusing on stabilizing our membership for 2013," Thompson said. "The greatest area of interest in the discussions seems to be in scheduling and setting up some sort of a championship game."

The Big 12 and Southeastern conferences announced last week a bowl game between their football champions starting with the 2014 season. That news followed last month's announcement by conference commissioners and BCS executives that they are looking toward establishing a national four-team playoff starting with the 2014 season.

Thompson vigorously supports a football playoff.

"The way it is now, some conferences are overvalued and some are undervalued," he said.

Thompson sees the Mountain West as a conference with a new beginning and fresh energy.

"Nobody knew what we were going to be 12 years ago when we became a conference in 1999," Thompson said. "In the early days of the Mountain West, CSU was the (football) team ranked in the top 25. Who had heard of Utah football before 2005?

"Our new membership has energized our league. There's a definite commitment by both Utah State and San Jose State to improve their athletic programs overall."

A sampling of opinion from established members of the conference indicates there isn't much dwelling on the past. The two additions for 2013 are looked at as up-and-coming programs.

Lt. Gen. Mike Gould, the Air Force superintendent, said "both Utah State and San Jose State bring strong traditions to the Mountain West. We look forward to a long relationship with both schools."

Air Force, CSU, Wyoming, New Mexico and UNLV are the holdovers from the startup Mountain West. The MW-affiliated bowl games for 2012 are in Las Vegas, San Diego, Shreveport, La., Albuquerque and Honolulu. The Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, lists attracting Air Force as a priority.

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